A Court of Graves and Flowers

CHAPTER SIX

"What the fuck are you wearing?"

Callisto turned to the doorway, where Rhysand had a horrified expression on his face. The look was almost cartoonish, with his wide eyes roving up and down her lilac gown. Callisto had to roll her eyes in response. How could she forget? Her brother so loved dramatics.

"I highly doubt that my wardrobe is the biggest issue right now," Calisto retorted.

"You're right. This place is my biggest issue. It's abysmal," Rhys replied, walking toward the couch where his sister was lounging. He frowned at the dusty, brown cover. With a wave of his hand, the sitting room righted itself.

It shined with its former glory—the glass panes were repaired, the vines and leaves cleared from the room. All the furniture looked like they'd been polished by an army of servants. Even the chandelier glistened, the crystals refracting the light from the outside.

"Show off," Callisto scoffed, but Rhysand only smiled as he finally joined her.

"You sound more like your old self," he commented, relief in his purple eyes. "It looks like Helion's spell helped."

"Yes, and Azriel's company was much appreciated."

"He did tell us about your conversation this morning. Cassian was very jealous."

Callisto grinned at that. "When am I going to see him?"

"Are you joking? I had to order him to stay in Velaris. Someone had to keep watch over the city while Azriel and I try to figure out how to get you out of here."

"I don't know Rhys..." Callisto began, knowing her brother wouldn't be enthusiastic about her next words. "Maybe it's a good thing that I'm trapped here in the Spring Court."

"Did the Cauldron scramble your brain? This is the last place you want to be."

"My brain is working just fine, thank you very much. And I don't want to be here any more than you do. You think I don't want to see Velaris?"

"Then what are you talking about?"

"We don't know why I'm back, Rhys. Did you—were you the one that used the Cauldron?" She hoped his answer would be a no, and she was relieved when her brother shook his head. At least he was smart enough not to toy with life and death. "So, how is it that I'm here?"

Rhys launched into the story of what happened, recounting the events of the previous night from his perspective. He told her the story of how Cassian had woken him, to the meeting he had with the Inner Circle in his house, to the moment they arrived at the Spring Court.

Despite the winding story, Callisto was excited to hear that her brother had found his mate—and she was an aunt! Rhys spoke about Feyre and Nyx with so much love that she couldn't wait to meet them both. He then told her of the mysterious figure and the unknown spell that had brought her back, and the smile dropped from her face.

"The stranger winnowed away before we could stop them, and then...you appeared out of the Cauldron, and that kind of became the priority."

"So, we don't know who brought me back or why," Callisto concluded, her stomach feeling uneasy. "That's all the more reason to be cautious. We don't know if I could be a danger."

"Why would you even think that?" Rhys asked angrily. It wasn't Callisto's fault. She wasn't even the first to raise such concerns. Amren had been grumbling about Callisto's return all morning, and it had gotten on Rhys's nerves.

While he was always grateful for Amren's advice, he also wanted to be happy. He had his sister back. It felt like a gift. After everything they'd been through, wasn't he allowed to have this? Wasn't he allowed to be happy?